To Be With The Varia
by Minto-san
Summary: After Fran is recruited by the Varia, how will he cope with the challenges and grow to be the illusionist everyone said he was? Follow him as he learns them step by step!  Pairings: B26, XS. SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 348.
1. How To Properly Leave For Italy

**A/N**: My first fanfic ever. I thought I'd start with a Belfran fanfic since they're my current OTP right now. I hope you'll enjoy it! Please do bear with me. Remember, this is my FIRST fanfic.

**Note**: Some pairings might be added later and rating may rise. Possible long chapters. Please R/R! :)?

**DISCLAIMER**: All characters used for this story belong to Akira Amano.

* * *

><p>To Be With The Varia<p>

Chapter I

_How To Properly Leave For Italy_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Jura, France.<strong>_

Fran stretched and made a big yawn as he slowly woke up and got up from bed. He fixed himself and went downstairs to get some breakfast, but...

As he walked to the kitchen, he saw four bodies that seemed to find the floor quite comfortable.

They were sprawled on the floor, as if fighting for the bigger space. One had long, silver hair, the other had sunglasses and a green tuft of hair growing from the front. Another was a man with a creepy mustache, spiky hair, and a lip piercing, and lastly, there was a baby that wore an indigo hood that covered his eyes, and wore a small sunhat that he placed on top of the hood.

Then Fran looked up , and saw another body, sleeping comfortably and contentedly on the sofa.

The boy on the sofa had messy, blonde hair that seemed to take over half of his face, and on top of his head, was...

"_What the heck is that, some sort of tiara?_" Fran thought, as he walked over to the sleeping body on the sofa.

He stared at the sleeping boy for a few seconds, then pulled over a blanket over the body.

Fran then walked quietly to the kitchen, careful not to make any noise. The teal-haired boy then grabbed a loaf of bread and proceeded in making himself a sandwich.

While chewing on the sandwich, he remembered yesterday's events.

"_I'll go with that group." he pointed to the group of men that looked like cavity imps. "It'll fun causing some trouble around here. Besides, if I grew up to be a fairy, they'd make me wear a dress."_

_The pineapple fairy smirked at the long-haired cavity imp. "Kufufu, it is decided then, Varia. You shall take responsibility of Fran for the time being."_

_The long-haired cavity imp shot him a look, but sighed. "There's no helping it then. We'll have to talk to Fran's grandmother about this, though."_

_The fairy nodded, then smiled softly at Fran. "Take care, little one. I'm sure you'll grow into a fine, young illusionist." he said as he walked away from the scene._

_Fran led them to his home, telling his grandmother that he had finally gotten the cavity imps hostage. He had dinner, and was asked to stay in his room until tomorrow while the grandmother talked with the group. He was hesistant to leave, as he wanted to join the discussion, but the grandmother just shooed him off and kindly asked him to go to bed._

_He waited, and waited and waited, until he finally fell asleep._

"I wonder what they talked about..." Fran thought out loud as he finished his sandwich, He wondered if he should've chosen the fairies' group instead or if he should really stay with this strange bunch. He slowly walked to the sink and washed his hands, then started walking towards the front door.

The young illusionist was about to step outside the house, when he realized something was missing.

"_Oops, almost forgot." _he thought as he waved his finger around and made an illusion of an apple hat on his head.

"Close call."

He walked outside and enjoyed the morning breeze as he practiced making small illusions of small butterflies and floating flowers. He often did this alone, since he was feared by the people of the village, children and adults alike, thinking that they might be attacked as soon as they get close.

Fran stopped walking. He thought about it. He had had no friends, he didn't go to school, he didn't experience being a happy child.

He never did.

But he also wondered if this was finally the turning point of his life.

The blessing that he had always silently asked for.

* * *

><p>"VOOOOIIII! SO THAT'S HOW IT IS, BRAT."<p>

"Eh...?"

As soon as he got home, his grandmother told him to sit down as Squalo tried to explain the situation he was in. They told him how he was going to be involved with the mafia from now on, and that he was going to live a dangerous life, going through missions and putting up with the pains and sorrows of being a mafioso.

His grandmother just silently agreed, though worried about Fran's safety, she knew about Fran's powers and potential. She knew that they were the only ones who could tame Fran's unstable power.

"I've already packed your bags, Fran. You'll be leaving tonight."

Fran couldn't believe it. He knew something like this was going to happen, but he never expected it to happen so soon. His grandmother told him to get ready and get dressed.

As Levi fetched his bags upstairs, his grandmother bade him goodbye and told Fran to do his best and try to write to her. She told him to tell her about all the exciting things in Italy that they don't get to see in their province. Then, she planted a small kiss on the teal-haired boy's forehead.

"VOI, we better hurry, the airport is a long way from here." Squalo interrupted, as he pulled Fran away from his grandmother.

Fran got into the car and they drove to the airport. The Varia were making a lot of noise, but Fran remained silent. This was just happening too fast. He couldn't take it.

He looked out the window. He was never going to see those hills again. Those sceneries, those smells, those sights, those sounds. He could feel himself tear up, but he did all he could to hold it in. It was a little hard, as he was still a child and tearing up came naturally.

"_Ugh-"_

_PAT PAT PAT._

Fran looked up. The blonde tiara-wearing boy who he saw sleeping on his sofa this morning slowly patted him on the head. Then the blonde spoke.

"I'm not doing this because I'm worried or anything." he snapped. "It's just that it'd be real troublesome if you cried now."

Fran nodded and looked at his lap, as Bel turned away and continued to argue with Levi.

But what should Fran do now? He was leaving to a new country, miles away from home. He just didn't feel safe. He was scared. But he won't admit that, of course.

He looked at the Varia, arguing and laughing at each other. They seemed so close, like a group of friends joking around over trivial things. Except those trivial things were about blood, murder and assassination. Still, Fran could see them bond over these tiny conversations. Like a real family.

Family.

_Maybe this might turn out to be fun, after all._

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>The boarding gate for Venice, Italy is now Open. Please form an orderly line at the boarding area at gate 5C. We repeat-"<strong>_

At about 7:33 PM, the Varia arrived at the airport. The announcement rang through the speakers as the passengers got up and formed a line at the gate entrance.

Fran slowly walked to the gate as he held onto the straps of his backpack. As he tried to get in line, a hand grabbed him by the back of his collar.

"Where do you think you're going, frog?" the prince asked, a huge grin stretched across his face.

_Frog?_

"What do you think, Mr. Cavity Imp? I'm going to get in line." he retorted as he tried to wiggle himself out of the sempai's grip.

"Stupid frog. People like us don't ride in cheap means of transportation." he snapped, letting go of the boy.

Fran tilted his head. "Then where-?"

"We have our own private jet." the blonde smiled, his grin getting impossibly wider.

"VOOOI! GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE! THE PLANE IS GOING TO LEAVE!"

The prince, annoyed, started shouting back. "NO, IT WON'T! IT'S OUR PLANE. IT LEAVES ANY TIME WE WANT IT TO!"

By now, everyone was staring as Lussuria tried to calm the two down.

"VOOIII! IT'S ALREADY BEHIND SCHEDULE! IT STILL HAS TO GO TO JAPAN TO PICK UP THE INJURED MEMBERS!"

"WHO CARES ABOUT THEM?"

"APPARENTLY, OUR DEPLETING NUMBER OF SOLDIERS!"

"Wait, you two!" Lussuria butted in.

"WHAT?" the bickering duo shouted in unison.

"Where's Fran-chan?"

...

"Huh?" Squalo and Bel looked around. No teal-haired brat in sight.

"But, he was just here a minute ago!" Squalo droned.

"Shishishi~ Maybe you scared him off, captain."

Squalo took out his sword. "SHUT UP, BEL!"

"YOU TWO! We have to focus." Lussuria complained as he tried to get between them. "If we don't find Fran-chan now, the plane will leave. And who knows, he might be found by another organization that's been after him!"

Squalo and Bel looked at each other and nodded. Bel headed to the east side of the airport, and Squalo ran to the west side. Not stopping, he looked back at Lussuria and yelled:

"Voi! Then you, Mammon and Levi will go ahead! Just stall the plane for as long as you can."

* * *

><p>"Phew." Fran sighed as he walked out of the bathroom.<p>

"Good thing I found the bathroom in time. " he said as he continued to walk. "Wait, where am I?"

Fran walked, keeping an indifferent face on as he tried to find the gate where the Varia were before he ran to the bathroom. But, as he continued to walk, the place started getting even more unfamiliar. He tried to keep his pride and avoided asking for directions, but he was getting even more worried.

He sighed heavily again.

"How unlucky."

_**WEST SIDE:**_

_BEEP BEEP BEEP. CLICK._

"What is it, Lussuria?" Squalo yelled into his earpiece as he frantically ran around the west side searching for Fran.

"Captain, the pilot said we have ten minutes tops before we take off. I just called Bel to tell him that too, and he hasn't found Fran yet, it seems."

"Got it." CLICK.

"That brat's got wings on his feet."

_**EAST SIDE:**_

"Ten minutes, huh?" Bel sighed.

Bel checked every possible place Fran could turn up at the east wing. Snack shops, agencies, mini-ponds, everywhere. But still no luck. He even checked the ladies bathroom.

He was about to give up and get back to the plane before it left, but as he walked, he saw a tuft of teal hair, somewhere in the crowd. As he walked closer, there was Fran, given a piggyback-ride by a man with a black suit and tie, along with shades.

"_OH CRAP! That must be the other organization! They got him!_"Bel panicked as he quickly approached the two.

He pulled out a knife and slashed it along the man's arm, giving him enough time to grab Fran and carry him on his back, running to the entrance of the plane.

"Heeeey~!" Fran whined as he held on to Bel who was running pretty fast. "What was that for?"

"What do you think, you stupid frog? I'm saving you from that suspicious guy!"

"What are you talking about, idiot? He was helping me find you guys!"

"Eh?"

Bel slowed down. "So... you weren't getting kidnapped by that guy?"

"Well, no. But I **am** getting kidnapped by you, now." he complained.

Bel was about to make an annoyed comeback, when he heard a people yelling at him from across the hall.

"It's him! That's the guy who cut this man's arm!" they yelled.

Fran and Bel's faces paled. Fran clung onto Bel as the prince ran as fast as he could, trying to lose the crowd of policemen after him.

"Look! He has a hostage with him! GET HIM!"

Fran looked back and yelled in a monotone voice. "Catch us if you caaaan~!"

"DON'T PROVOKE THEM, IDIOT!" Bel ordered, making a quick turn to the right and running for the gate that connected to the door to the plane.

"VOI! There you are! Good thing you brats made it in time!"

"What the heck did you two do? You look like you just rode a rollercoaster." Mammon observed.

"Kind of." Fran monotoned earning a punch on the head from Bel. "Ow."

They got to their seats as the plane got read to take off, with Fran sharing Mammon's seat since his had more space. Bel, pissed as he was, pulled out a DS and started playing some games to calm himself down.

The Varia chatted for a while, until Squalo remembered something.

"By the way, Fran, where did you run off to a while ago anyway?"

Receiving no reply, Squalo looked over his seat to check on Fran, but sat back down as he saw the teal-haired boy sleeping soundly on his seat, with a tiny smile on his face.

Lussuria stood up and pulled a blanket over the boy and smiled as he whispered,

"Welcome to the family, Fran-chan."

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter: How To Stay By Your Side<strong>

THERE, DONE!

I hope you enjoyed it~! This fanfic will be multi-chaptered, and I hope I did well on this first chapter! Fran was such a cutie in this chapter. Please note that this is just in the case IF Fran picks the Varia. It's not officially announced yet, so this'll just stick to being in your imagination.

Please review~! I really need Comments/Critics for this, as this is my first. Thank you~!

-Mint


	2. How To Stay By Your Side

A/N: Hey there, fellas! Because I'm getting great ideas right now, I thought I'd type up the next chapter as soon as I could. There'll be more B26 in this chapter!

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><p>Chapter II<p>

_How to Stay By Your Side_

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><p><em><strong>11:30 PM, Varia HQ<strong>_

The Varia settled in the living room, sighing in relief as they sat on the sofas. However, Fran, after a good long nap on the plane, explored the huge living room.

Squalo walked to a nearby table and pulled out some papers.

"I guess it's back to work for us." he sighed. He handed a brown envelope to Levi. "Here's the information on your new mission." Levi nodded and went out the door quietly. Mammon excused himself and floated out of the room, yawning as he did so. Lussuria stayed in the room, however, seeing there was still work to do.

He bended down to pick up the stack of papers on the table.

"Let's get going and finish these reports, Squalo. We don't want to keep the boss waiting." he said, winking at Squalo.

The long-haired captain shot him a look, but ignored the urge to yell at the flamboyant man. Instead, he walked up to Bel, who was busy playing with his knives on the sofa.

"Voi, Bel, show the brat to his room." pointing to Fran, who was busy opening and closing every drawer he saw in the living room.

"What? Why does the prince have to show the frog brat to his room? The prince isn't some servant." he complained, showing no smile on his face.

"We're busy!" Squalo argued as he walked out of the room. "Baby officers take care of little rookies!"

"Che." Bel couldn't argue with that. After all, he still had to wait another ten years before he could officially proclaim that he ISN'T a baby officer anymore. He then stood up from the sofa and called out to the kouhai.

"Frog! Get over here. The prince doesn't have all night."

Fran scurried over to the prince and followed him out the room.

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><p>Then they walked.<p>

Down the long hallway that never seemed to end. At least for the both of them, as there were an awkward silence between the two, and they just couldn't find anything to talk about. Sometimes, Fran would stop to look at some rooms they pass by and get lost in the hallway, leaving Bel to come back for Fran and yell at him with an annoyed tone.

Fran, just a few feet behind Bel, looked around.

"_God, this place is huge._" the teal-haired boy thought. "_I wonder how they got used to a house this big..._"

He looked up at the figure in front of him, the prince. He was slouching and walking in a fast pace with his hands in his pocket. Fran looked down at that. The kouhai learned from Lussuria recently that they weren't on good terms ten years into the future.

He heard that they would bicker and argue nonstop, even going as far as to hurting each other physically, bloodshed included. Fran felt a small pang on his heart. It hurt him.

_It hurts._

He had felt this feeling so many times before. It wasn't new to him.

The feeling of hate for himself.

He had always been hated as a child. But for him to feel it again in a foreign place where he knew no one...? It hurt just as much.

Fran started slowing down, then suddenly, stopped. His eyes were fixed onto the ground as he though he found the floor interesting to stare at all of a sudden. Bel noticed that the presence behind him was gone, and looked over his shoulder to see if Fran got lost...again.

But, instead of seeing an empty hallway behind him, he saw Fran, about two meters from the prince. Bel, sensing the change in the mood, tried to break the silence.

"What's wron-"

"Hey, senpai. I have a question."

_...senpai._

_Senpai._

That was a name Bel hadn't heard in a while, and he had to admit, he missed hearing it in that monotone voice. He was a bit curious though, did Fran finally get his memories back, seeing that he remembered what he used to call the prince ten years into the future?

"Why are you calling me that? Bel wanted to know.

"Eh? Lussuria told me that-"

_Oh._

"Nevermind." Bel interrupted. "What was it you wanted to ask?"

…

"Senpai...do you hate me?"

…!

Silence. There was a long and awkward silence, and neither of the two knew what to say to break it. Fran looked down on the floor, his eyebrows knitting together as he slowly spoke.

"You know, back at my village, I was used to being hated." he started. "I've always hated myself too. I hated everything about me."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Fran fidgeted as he pulled his hat down to his eyes. "I hated my hair, so I wore a hat over my hair all the time. I tried to make sure that everyone would be too busy looking at the hat rather than my hair. I hated my scrawny body, my personality, my eyes..."

The prince wanted to say something at that moment, that Fran's eyes were one of the few things that Bel noticed first about the frog, but he didn't. He just remained silent as Fran continued.

"But you know, grandma told me that the people who truly see the worth in you are the ones who will always stay by your side."

Then Fran asked again in a solemn voice, "So, **do** you hate me, senpai?"

Fran could hear his own voice crack, but he couldn't care less. He wanted a confirmation. He didn't even know why he wanted to know what Bel really thought of him. He couldn't get the hanging thought out of his mind.

They were quiet for a few good minutes, then Bel spoke, turning his head away from the illusionist, so that his back was facing Fran.

"Well, you're pretty annoying."

Fran could feel the weight on his heart get heavier, weighing him down like a lead, but he kept quiet. Bel continued.

"You're obnoxious, noisy and pretty much a pain in the ass."

_So..._

Fran didn't expect him to be this blunt, but took it all in anyway. He just looked down on the floor, not saying anything.

"But..."

Fran snapped his head up, trying to listen intently to what his senpai was about to say.

"...The prince doesn't hate you...you know."

The teal-haired boy's eyes widened at that. He sensed the insecurity from the senpai's voice, but the kouhai could tell that the prince was serious. For him to have so many negative traits, but his senpai doesn't hate him, still? Could there be a small thread tying them together, a tiny detail that made Bel want to stay?

He tried to hide a tiny smile as he started walking towards the prince. He held the prince's hand and held onto it tight.

"What do you think you're doing, frog?" Bel asked, his voice had no signs of annoyance, but his mouth was formed into straight line.

"I'm tired of getting lost, senpai. It's much more convenient this way."

Bel pondered about that for a few seconds, sighing as he tightened his grip around his kouhai's hand.

"Hold on, then." he quietly replied as they started walking.

_I'll continue to hold onto your hand..._

_...as long as you stay by my side._

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><p><strong>Next Chapter: How to Properly Greet the Boss<strong>

Phew~! I'm glad I was able to finish this! Did you like it? I think Fran was a bit OOC here, but I'm pretty content with this right now! The next update will be next week, so look forward to it!

R/R PLEASE~! I need some comments/criticism! :)


	3. How To Properly Greet the Boss

A/N: Here's the next chapter! I'll try to make them longer this time. I hope you'll enjoy it. I'll try having my fics BETA'd next time :)

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><p>Chapter III<p>

How to Properly Greet the Boss

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><p>"Oh my~!" Lussuria gasped. "You're up early!"<p>

"Shishishi~ Felt like it."

"Well, you're the first one up, so have a seat!" the Varia's 'mama' beamed. "I made some pancakes~!"

Bel lazily walked to his seat as Lussuria handed him some pancakes. The prince stared at his plate in discontent and reached over to steal some pancakes from Fran's plate. But before he could even stab a fork on the frog's pancakes, Lussuria smacked the prince's hand away.

"Don't even think about it, Bel-chan." he scolded.

"Che. The frog wouldn't notice anyways..." he mumbled. Lussuria ignored Bel and went back to cooking breakfast, after moving Fran's plate farther from the prince's reach.

Squalo, Levi and Mammon came down soon after. Squalo hastily finished his pancakes and ran out the door, saying he had a ton of work to do. Levi followed soon after.

As Lussuria placed the eighth plate of steak on the table, he sat down on his own seat and started eating his breakfast.

"Wait, where's Fran-chan?"

"Probably still asleep." Mammon answered, swallowing his last bit of pancake, and floating out the door, leaving only the prince and the gaylord alone.

"How unusual. He was up early yesterday and the day before that. This won't do~" Lussuria complained. "Bel-chan, be a dear and go wake up Fran-chan, please?"

"Don't want to." the senpai rudely replied. "It's not my job to babysit the frog."

It had been three days since Fran had started living in the Varia headquarters. Since he hadn't mastered controlling his illusions yet, he just stays in the mansion, playing or walking around while the rest of the Varia went on missions. The kouhai still got lost around the HQ often, and he would keep following Bel around when the prince wasn't busy.

"It's kind of cute, the way he always clings to you." Lussuria complimented. "The poor child gets lost all the time."

"It's not like the prince wants him to." Bel retorted. "It's none of your business, gaylord."

Lussuria was about to complain when they hear a monotone voice interrupt their conversation.

"Mnn, I smell something nice."

Everyone turned to see the owner of the voice. Lussuria smiled and greeted the boy.

"Good morning, Fran-chan! Come sit down, we're having pancakes!"

"Good morning..." Fran greeted back as he cutely rubbed his eyes and sleepily walked over to his chair. He took a sip of his orange juice and then started on his pancakes.

"Shishishi~" the senpai chuckled, resting his chin on his palm." It's amazing that you never get lost when you want to go to the dining room, but you always have trouble finding the bathroom."

Fran looked up and glared at his senpai. "Shut up, fake prince."

_Stab._

"Ow." the kouhai emotionlessly whined as he pulled out the knife and threw it back at the prince. Bel caught it between his middle and index finger and made a tiny 'che'.

"Nice catch."

"Not in front of the dining table, you two." Lussuria scolded. He then turned to Fran.

"Fran-chan, your Varia uniform will probably be delivered this afternoon, can you-"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a wine glass flew into the room and crashed at the wall near where the gaylord was standing. Lussuria tilted his head at the right angle and avoided the wine glass perfectly, as if he knew all along.

"My, my. He seems to be awake now." the peacock-homo mused, placing a hand on his cheek,

"Who is?" Fran asked.

"Why, our boss, Fran-chan~!"

Fran's eyes sparkled with interest. He had heard all sorts of things about the man. How he had anger issues, how he didn't consume anything but wine and steak, how he always abused Squalo, how he fought during the Ring battles... those things. For the past two days, Fran hadn't actually seen the man, but he could hear the crashes from upstairs.

Xanxus stepped into the room, a murderous and treacherous aura emanating from him.

"Where's my breakfast, trash." he asked. But it didn't even sound like a question. It sounded more like a "do-it-or-die" statement.

"Right here, boss~" Lussuria answered, pointing to the eight plates of steak.

Xanxus sat down and grabbed a fork. Before he could start, he looked up and saw Fran, This was his first time seeing the illusionist. He scanned the little boy and noticed that the boy has been staring at him for a while now. "What are you staring at me for, trash." he scoffed. "You want your face blown off?"

Fran, as if by reflex, answered. "Are you stupid? Why would I want that?"

…

_OH. MY. GOD._

Bel and Lussuria's faces paled as Xanxus almost dropped his fork after his mind absorbed what he just heard. Fran, a few seconds later, realized what he just said and placed a hand over his mouth, cursing at himself in his mind.

WOOSH. SMASH. BANG. CRASH.

It didn't take long for the boss to react.

Different objects were thrown around the room, with Lussuria trying desperately to avoid the incoming projectiles. The prince moved swiftly, avoiding each object perfectly with a huge cheshire-cat grin on his face.

Fran just crawled under a table and managed to avoid being hit by flying objects. He reached for a piece of tissue paper and tried to write down his will.

_I want all my stuff to be buried underground for underground elves to use. Oh, and I want grandma to know that her lunches suck and to please name a town after me._

At the corner of his eye, Xanxus saw the table move a bit, and walked over to teach the boy a lesson. A _painful _lesson.

That's when Squalo bursted in through the door.

As soon as he stepped in, the room fell silent. Xanxus stopped in his tracks and everyone in the room looked toward the direction of the long-haired captain.

"VOOOOIIII! I forgot to tell you tha-" Squalo stopped in the middle of his sentence as he scanned the room. Chairs flipped over, wine glasses destroyed, plates shattered, Bel and Lussuria in their 'defense mode'...

...this can only mean one thing. The bo-

"OW OW OW OW!" the Varia's shark yelled as the boss yanked on his hair. "What do you want now?"

"Where have you been, trash?" Xanxus inquired, his eyes narrowing as Squalo turned to answer back.

"Where do you think, you stupid boss? I was going to go on a mission, but I forgot to tell Lussuria something."

Xanxus nodded and said nothing. Just Squalo being here seemed to calm him down. He slowly let go of Squalo's hair, while the long-haired captain tried to comb it desperately with his fingers. The boss then took a plate of steak and went up to his room. Before he could walk out the door, he looked over his shoulder and ordered, "Bring a bottle of wine upstairs in 20 minutes, trash."

"Yes boss!" Lussuria replied, a hint of fear in his voice. Then the door slammed behind Xanxus as he went back to his room.

Lussuria sighed in relief as he walked over to the Varia's shark and discussed a few details about his mission.

Bel skipped over to the kitchen table and peeked under the tablecloth.

"Shi shi shi, you can come out now, froggy."

"Don't call me that, fake-prince senpai." Fran mumbled as he crawled out from under the table.

_Stab._

"Ow."

Fran stared at themess the boss left behind. Fran's eyes twinkled as he continued to stare, not saying anything, but simply looking at his surroundings. The boss' actions intrigued Fran, from the way he acted to the way he spoke. Fran wondered what it would be like if someone really tried to piss him off. He wondered how a person like him gain so much power in his hands.

"_He's so cool!" _

the teal-haired boy thought out loud.

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter: How To Be Varia Quality<strong>

Sorry if this chapter was lame and a little short! Plot bunnies didn't come for dinner. I'll improve the next one, I promise!

Please R/R! I need criticism/comments.


	4. How To Be Varia Quality

A/N: Here's this week's chapter! You may notice that it's a bit longer than usual, and that there's a more serious air to this one than the previous chapters. So, uh, please enjoy!

* * *

><p>Chapter 4<p>

How to Be Varia Quality

* * *

><p>No matter what, Fran always hated Mondays.<p>

Whether he had something to do that day or not, it was always his unluckiest day of the week. Something unexpected would always come up and ruin the day for him.

Like right now.

The Varia members, excluding Xanxus, stood in the living room, eyes set on an unexpected visitor.

"Kufufu."

**Earlier:**

"Voooi, seems like we're all free today." Squalo noticed.

"Ushishi~" Bel snickered, placing his feet on the coffee table in front of him. "We killed a lot last week, didn't we?"

"Mou, it's so boring when we don't have missions to do." the gaylord complained, placing a hand on his cheek. "There's nothing to do."

Fran, who was sitting on the sofa, knees hugged close to his chest, butted in. "Staying home is pretty fun, though."

Everyone in the room shot him a look. It had been two weeks since he joined, and all he did was run around and play in the HQ, causing trouble wherever he went.

"Which reminds me," Mammon started. "When is Fran going to start his training?"

"Shishi~ Yeah, when? We can't have his ass sitting around the house all the time." Bel agreed, pointing to the kouhai as he did so.

"Useless." Levi mumbled, but no one cared about his opinion. Instead, they all turned to Squalo.

"The long-haired captain shrugged and shook his head. "I don't know yet, but I-"

"Kufufu, perhaps I could be of assistance?" a deep voice ran through the room. A purple fog misted in the middle of the room, and formed into a shape of a human.

Everyone, except for Fran, stood up and shifted into assassin mode, as Mukuro appeared before them, a smirk on his face.

"Kufufu."

Fran stood up and pointed at the older illusionist. "Heeeey~! It's the pineapple faerie!"

"Please refrain from calling me that, little one." Mukuro snapped, his left eye twitching. Then he turned to the Varia.

"I was a fool to trust you with Fran. It's been two weeks and I see no improvement." he retorted. "I should've expected you slacking off like this, Varia."

Squalo pointed his sword at the illusionist. Surprisingly, he wasn't yelling, and he kept a perfectly straight face. "If you care so much, why don't you just take him, then?"

"Kufufu, I have no such intention." the illusionist replied. "But I do plan on checking up on him regularly. I have to see for myself if this arcobaleno is teaching him well." he added, pointing at Mammon.

The baby looked up and raised an eyebrow under his hood. "Is that a challenge?" Mukuro simply chuckled, showing no signs of fear or hesitation.

Fran just blinked and tilted his head, not understanding the situation.

* * *

><p>Squalo led Mukuro and the rest of the Varia into the training room. It was in a separate building from the HQ, but it was a walkable distance. As they entered the said room, the first thing they could see was a machine, complete with big buttons and blinking lights. Then, at the left, a huge balcony overlooking a stadium could be seen.<p>

The long-haired captain instructed Fran to go to the center of the stadium, and the boy reluctantly obeyed. Mammon inserted a CD into the machine, and the words "Illusionist Training Program" appeared on the screen to the right. The rest sat on the seats provided, getting a good view of the stadium. Mammon floated to his seat, only to fail miserably as Bel grabbed the small baby's body and held him in the prince's arms, hugging him close.

The lights start to dim as the machine beeped and booped, initiating the program.

In the stadium, illusions start appearing and surrounding Fran, taking the form of soldiers, warriors and monsters. It was truly a terrifying sight. A normal child would've screamed, cried and fainted by now, but whoever said Fran was normal? The teal-haired boy gulped, but kept his emotionless mask on. He could feel the illusions get stronger as the stadium walls started to melt.

The illusions charged at Fran, attempting to take him head on. The young illusionist tried to think fast. He shut his eyes tight, hugging himself for protection and the illusions that were about to attack him stopped dead in their tracks.

Suddenly, they started floating in the air and reaching for their throats, as if something was strangling them. Apparently, Fran had unconsciously pulled out an illusion. Sort of like a defense mechanism.

Sure enough, the tentacles choking them started to become visible, getting tighter and tighter until...

...the illusions dissolved into flies and buzzed around the stadium. In a flash, they morphed back into their previous forms, but for some reason, they looked stronger than before. They charged at Fran again, and this time, the kouhai didn't have enough time to react.

They swung their weapons and claws at the boy, but he crawled away in time, earning tiny scratches all over his petite body.

He tried to keep his face indifferent as he called out to the people on the balcony. "Heeeey, are you trying to get me killed?"

Mukuro simply shook his head and replied, "Little one, enemies do not have time for hesitation and show no mercy in the battlefield. If you truly have the desire to live on, you must fight."

"But-"

Squalo was pissed by now. He stood up from his seat and yelled, "VOOOOII! USE YOUR ILLUSIONS, DUMB BRAT!"

Fran bit his lip. How do you fight with illusions? All he could do was defend himself with them, or use weak attacking illusions like tentacles or small projectiles.

"Ah!"

Fran's thoughts were interrupted, as he barely avoided another attack. He winced as blood leaked down from the side of his cheek. He felt his knees go weak and knelt on the ground, panting hard for breath.

At the balcony, Mammon could feel Bel's grip around him tighten, as they watched the wounded kouhai pathetically try to evade the attacks.

He looked up and asked, "Are you worried?"

Bel, not even looking at the baby, replied, "Ushishi, hell no."

Mammon could hear the hesitation in his voice, but decided not to question him further. Instead, he turned back to the teal-haired boy, who was desperately trying to make useful illusions.

Mukuro, getting slightly annoyed at Fran showing signs of weakness, called out, "Little one, use your imagination and visualize. Think of illusions that could give you an advantage."

The young illusionist nodded, and slowly closed his eyes.

_I have to hurry. I need to think of something. Like..._

… _a room dripping with acid._

In the blink of an eye, the room started to melt; the floor was sinking lower and lower, the walls started to drip a red, sticky substance.

Fran snapped his eyes open. He sniffed the air, taking in the scent of the weird, red liquid dripping from the walls. It didn't take him long to realize something was wrong.

_Th-this is..._

"Strawberry jam?" Mukuro gawked, as he smelled the familiar scent of strawberries sifting through the air. Squalo stuck out a finger and dipped it in the sweet, red substance. He gave it a lick, and confirmed that it was, indeed, strawberry jam that was seeping through the walls, and not poisonous acid.

"That's not right..." Fran whispered to himself as he attempted to make another illusion, but this time a weapon for himself. But, for some strange, unexplained reason, his illusions never come out the way it was supposed to be.

Fran never had any experience with weaponry, so he had no idea what they would look or feel like. He tried guns, swords, explosives...even knives. No matter how hard he tried, they were always weird and deformed, twisting into different directions.

Weaponless, he was really weak. A warrior-like illusion managed to whack Fran on the head, causing blood to run down his face.

He clicked his tongue."Che. I let my guard down."

His vision was getting blurry and he could barely keep his feet on the ground. His legs started to wobble until they finally gave way altogether, letting him hit the ground. He managed to prop himself up with his two hands, panting as he tried to keep himself steady.

Lussuria panicked, "Is he alright? He might die out there!"

Squalo opened his mouth to say something, only to be interrupted by Mukuro. "'In the Varia, only the strong survive.' isn't that right...?" he smirked. "Varia quality is really something."

The captain didn't answer. In all honesty, he wasn't that sure if that rule applied to Fran or not, seeing that he was still a child who knew nothing about the mafia. But, despite Lussuria's frantic worrying, a rule was a rule. He couldn't do anything about it.

Tentacles started wrapping themselves around Fran's legs as the illusions slowly walked to him and raised their weapons, ready to strike at the young illusionist.

BANG.

Bel stood up and slammed his hands on the ledge of the balcony, a pissed look on his face. Everyone brought their attention to the prince. Even the illusions froze for a few seconds, giving Fran an opening to summon illusions of his own to pin down the attackers.

"YOU IDIOT-FROG! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" he yelled. Fran looked up at that, staring wide-eyed at his senpai.

"What-"

"This whole time, the prince has been stabbing you with knives, and you don't even bleed! Heck, you don't even make a single frikkin' noise!" he complained and pointed at the still-frozen illusions. "But you expect the prince to believe that illusions as lame as these can actually beat the crap out of you? Get your shit together, frog!"

Everyone's jaws dropped to the ground. Even Mukuro, who seemed so calm and unwavering, had his mouth hanging a few centimeters. However, Mammon snorted. He kind of saw that coming, since the whole time they were watching, everytime Fran was somehow hurt or injured, the prince would tighten his grip around the baby, but will loosen up a few moments later, after the kouhai manages to evade the attacks.

Bel took a deep breath and added, "If you die, I'LL KILL YOU!"

Fran just gaped at the prince, not believing what he just heard. Still, he managed to keep his emotionless mask on, and muttered in monotone, "Idiot-senpai. That doesn't even make any sense-"

_Wait._

_...make any sense...?_

_**-Flashback-**_

"_Hey, hey, grandma, did you know? Someone called me a freaky weirdo 'cause of my hair color." Fran started as he sat on the sofa, sipping some orange juice from a glass with a straw._

_His grandma looked up at Fran, taking a break from folding clothes and asked,"Oh, is that so?"_

_Fran nodded and added, "It really doesn't make any sense grandma. I've seen black, brown and blonde hair before, but I've really seen anyone who had hair colored like mine."_

"_Hmm. So, do you hate your hair color because of that?"_

_The boy didn't know what to say, so he simply shrugged. It's not that he hated his hair color, but he just wished it could've been something more...normal. He was always conscious about it, though he never showed it. He lifted his hands and played with a stray strand of hair._

_The old woman closed her eyes and slowly spoke, "Ah, Fran. You shouldn't listen to others who don't appreciate the things that make you unique. Sometimes the things that don't make any sense are the most special."_

_Fran tilted his head, not really absorbing what his grandmother had just said. _

"_So... sometimes it's better not to make any sense?"_

"_That's right."_

…

"...That's right." Fran whispered to himself, feeling his strength slowly come back to him. The tentacles were still wrapped tight around his limbs, but it didn't seem to hurt as much anymore.

_My illusions don't have to make sense!_

The illusions that were pinned down by Fran's own started to dissolve, and reappearing in a different location, proceeding to attack the boy.

However, Fran didn't move an inch. Instead, as the illusions lifted their weapons to strike at Fran, a sudden parade of elephants riding on unicycles started trampling the illusions, giving the young illusionist a chance to escape from the illusions that were strangling him. As another wave of illusions approached the boy, he simply stood still as whips of licorice and taffy wound themselves around the illusions, slamming them on the ground repeatedly until they slowly faded away.

More illusions started to appear, but Fran would flawlessly defeat them, one way or another. From monkeys on flying bicycles dropping explosives on the monsters to giant whales rising from the ground and swallowing the warrior-like illusions.

Mukuro gawked at the spectacle before him, then laughed. "Kufufu. A child's imagination is truly unmatched."

It took about another 40 minutes, but the young illusionist finally defeated all 4000 illusions the program hurled at him. However, powerful illusionist or not, he was still a child.

The small, fragile body flopped to the ground, allowing himself to fall asleep on the cold, hard surface. Mukuro and the rest of the Varia stayed in the training room, discussing something about Fran's training as Lussuria carried the boy to his room, laid Fran on the bed and healed the boy with his sun flames. After he finished, he placed a small, green band-aid over Fran's wound on the cheek, a wound the boy received from all that fighting from earlier.

As the gaylord stood up to leave, he noticed that a certain blond-haired prince was sitting on a chair near the side of the bed, staring intently at his kouhai. He knew the prince really cared about the frog, more than the prince would like to admit.

Lussuria didn't say anything else. He left Bel with the duty of watching over Fran, knowing that the prince would've objected even if Lussuria shoo'ed him away,

Mammon entered the room a few minutes later to check up on the two young assassins. Bel looked up from a book he was reading, and smiled at the baby.

"Ushishi~ Hey there."

Mammon didn't say anything, he simply floated over the kouhai's bed, examining the boy.

"He's a real talent, huh." the baby complimented.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Bel questioned. "He barely got out alive. And it was just a training program."

Mammon glanced at Bel, his eyes narrowing under his hood. "That training program had a total of 100 levels. A normal illusionist would've been fatally wounded if it went higher than 75."

"...So?"

"I use that program too, Bel." the baby murmured. "It seems I forgot to set it back to an easier level."

The prince cocked his head to the side.

"The level was set to 93."

_...What?_

Bel glanced over his kouhai, who was sleeping peacefully on the bed. That cute, angelic face seemed to look more adorable when Fran was asleep. The boy's mouth was slightly open and his body was tucked comfortably under a blanket. The prince laughed to himself.

_Perhaps you won't need the prince's protection after all, Froggy._

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter: <strong>How to Enjoy Your First Mission

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I really enjoyed typing this one up. It's a real long one, huh? I hope you liked it! Mukuro even made an appearance! Please R/R! I enjoy reading everyone's reviews, and it really motivates me to write new chapters. Fran's adventures will continue and get more complicated as time passes, so look forward to it!

Again, thank you so much!

-Minto-san


	5. How To Enjoy Your First Mission

Here's the next chapter. Thank you all so much for the reviews! I'll try my best in this chapter! It has a much more serious air than the previous ones, but there's still fluff somewhere in between! Please do enjoy!

* * *

><p>Chapter 5<p>

How to Enjoy Your First Mission

* * *

><p>"Phew."<p>

The stadium lights slowly blink on as Fran flawlessly finishes off the last illusion from the training program. His skill for illusions have been dramatically improving since the first time he trained, and he was starting to get a little bored of 'playing' level 85.

Mammon floated down from the balcony and settled himself on Fran's head.

"You need to work on your footing."

"Yeah, yeah. As strict as always, huh."

Mammon narrowed his eyes from under his hood. "Show some respect."

"Pffff."

Fran lazily walked up the stairs and to the main hallway. Today's the big day.

The day he finally gets to go on his first mission.

Fran could hardly sleep the night before, the thought of going to a mission after staying in the HQ all day was just enough to keep him awake. The joy he felt when Squalo handed him his mission envelope was indescribable. He just couldn't believe it! Soon enough, he had to force himself to sleep since he needed as much rest as he could get.

Fran woke up earlier than usual, and ran to the training room to practice a bit more before heading out on his first mission. Mammon, who had been passing by, decided to observe his training. The teal-haired trained endlessly for 2 hours.

...

The duo finally reached the dining hall, and sat on their usual seats. Everyone, including the boss, had already finished their breakfast. Lussuria walked up to Fran and smiled at him.

"Here, Fran-chan! I made you some sandwiches to bring on your first mission~!" the gaylord mused as he handed the boy a small lunchbox. Fran nodded and quietly thanked him before accepting the small parcel.

Squalo saw this and complained, "Voii, stop baby-ing the boy. He's an assassin, dammit."

"Oh, Squ-chan, if you want sandwiches, you should just say so!" Lussuria giggled as he handed the Varia captain a different lunchbox.

Squalo's eyebrow twitched, but said nothing. Instead, he turned to Fran. "Brat, since your mission might be a bit tough on you, Bel and Levi will be coming along."

Bel, who was busy polishing his knives, almost fell off his seat when he heard that. "Why do I have to-!"

Levi opened his mouth to complain as well, but Squalo cut him off. "VOOOII! Don't fucking complain to me, you dumb brat. Your free today anyway, so go and do your fucking job, you lazy prince!"

The blonde gritted his teeth and glanced at Fran who was busy chewing on his food. '_I guess it would be fun seeing him in action...'_ the prince thought to himself before sitting back down and uttering a tiny 'che'.

* * *

><p>"Ne, Bel-senpai. It says we have to kill the boss of some family. Apparently he's been trying to kill some of our members."<p>

"Ushishi~ sounds dumb."

"What does?

"The guy."

"Oh."

Fran, Bel and Levi were making their way across a thicket, with Bel leading the way, Fran second, and Levi close behind.

Supposedly, in the middle of it, the headquarters of the targeted family was located in the middle. Luckily, the information in the envelope helped them out. It told them the exact location: the steps they have to take, the turns tthey have to make... _everything._ It had some information about their headquarters too. It described their HQ as 'high-tech with state-of-the-art defense mechanisms'.

But it was the exact opposite.

As they reached the center of the thicket, they couldn't believe their eyes. The mansion was old and run-down. The paint was chipped off, the fences were falling apart, and the front door seemed like it was for a garage or something.

Bel leaned over to Fran, asking him to open the envelope again. "Hey, frog. Are you sure we got the place right? This wasn't how the prince imagined it." he muttered. "I kind of pictured it...fancier."

Fran looked at the paper in the envelope, looked back at the building, and back at the paper again.

"Yep, this seems to be the place. The paper says there aren't any other buildings around, so..."

"Let's just go in." Levi interrupted, before brushing past them and walking to the garage-like door. For some strange reason, it was wide open, as if the targets were..._welcoming _them. Levi shrugged and tried to enter, when suddenly...

...the door started to close, lowering by itself,_ fast_.

Levi tried to think fast and tried pushing the lowering door back up with his arms above his head.

"Uuuooooooh!" he huffed. The power of the door lowering to the ground was strong, but Levi stood there, keeping the door open with all his might, smirking with pride as he did so.

"Shishi~ good job, Lev." Bel snickered, linking his hands behind his head as he walked into the building with ease, now that someone had been holding the door up for him. Fran followed, before giving a farewell nod at the lightning guardian.

"You bastaaaaaards!"

* * *

><p>"Was it really alright to leave him there?" Fran asked the prince, still looking back at the empty hallway behind him.<p>

"Shishi~ he's never been so useful before."

The teal-haired boy made a face and replied, "If only you were as useful, senpa-"

_STAB._

"Ow."

The two remained silent after that, as they continued to walk down the hallway that never seemed to end. It almost felt like there was no one in this building at all. Perhaps this was just a waste of time? The two had no idea. The building seemed pretty deserted; no soldiers or obstacles blocking their way. It was a perfectly normal, abandoned building.

Or so they thought.

…_!_

The ground begun to shook, making Fran lose balance and tripping onto the cold, hard floor. Out of nowhere, a wall lowered itself onto the ground, separating both from each other.

_Crap...! I let my guard down!_

Bel punched the wall separating Fran from him. Maybe calling out will work...?

"Oi, froggy! Can you hear me?"

"..."

...no response.

Bel scratched the back of his head. "Che. I guess the prince will have to look for a way to get to the other si-"

"...SENPAI!"

Bel quirked his head up at the call. "Wha-?"

That's strange. Fran's voice sounded... distressed. The prince didn't like it one bit. "Oi! Froggy! What's going on there?"

At the other side of the wall, the kouhai was panicking. Though his face didn't show it, his trembling knees and furrowed eyebrows made it obvious. He had been surrounded by eight tough-looking men, each with a gun in his hand. He tried calling out to his senpai, in the hopes that he might just bust through that wall and save him or something, but it wasn't likely. Fran gulped and quickly tried to make an illusion of tentacles to restrain them and give him enough time to attack.

But it didn't work.

One of the men chuckled and smirked at Fran. "Your flames have been cancelled out since you stepped into this building, little boy."

"This building has a defense mechanism that cancels any flame that enters this place without wearing this ring." another man added, holding up his ring finger. Sure enough, there was a ring on his finger that had the family's insignia engraved in the middle.

Fran tried to buy some time, enough to calm down and formulate a plan. "Then why didn't you just ambush us in the forest or something?"

The men chuckled. "Heh, and what's the fun in that?"

_...Che. They're almost as twisted as senpai._

The men pointed their guns at Fran and proceeded to fire at him. Luckily, Fran put his training to good use and _barely_ managed to evade the bullets. He ran down the dark hall with the eight men chasing him.

* * *

><p>Bel's side.<p>

He was surrounded by fifteen men a few minutes ago, but that was before he slashed their throats and ripped out most of their organs, leaving fifteen bloody cactuses behind.

The prince grinned. "What the hell, this is easy-peasy."

He turned on his heel and ran down the corridor, silently praying that his kouhai had not been killed yet. He learned about the flame-cancellation ability of this building from one of the men he killed. The soldier begged for mercy, hoping to be spared by telling him this peace of information. However, it wasn't his lucky day. As soon as he told Belphegor about the building's mechanisms, he was rewarded with five knives stabbed deep into his torso.

Bel picked up the pace. He knew Fran couldn't really fight without his illusions. Without his flames, he was powerless.

_...Froggy!_

BANG!

"Ah?" Bel turned around to the source of the noise. A tall and lean man pointed a gun at him, his face written with pure anger.

"You... I'll never forgive you..." the man slowly muttered. "You killed my soldiers, you bastard!"

"What the... _you're_ the boss? You're more pathetic-looking than I imagined." Bel teased, readying his knives.

"I may be, but this is the end for you, Prince the Ripper."

Soldiers grabbed Bel from behind, restraining his arms and legs, making the prince drop his knives.

"What the-"

BANG!

Another sound of a gunshot pierced the air.

* * *

><p>Fran continued to run down the hall, making quick turns along the hallway in an attempt to lose the people chasing him. He was at his limit. For the first time in a long time, he was scared. His heart banged against his chest, his palms were sweating and he could barely even keep his trembling legs still. One man caught up to him, but the teal-haired boy simply kicked the man in the shin before continuing down the hallway to escape from the guards.<p>

He just ran.

Ran along the long, long corridor, hoping that the exit might just turn up somewhere.

It took him minutes to realize he couldn't take it anymore. He discovered a small room and decided to hide there and try to get back some of his energy. Panting hard for breath, the kouhai tried his best to calm down by rubbing his upper arms up and down.

Tip. Tap.

_Footsteps?_

Fran hugged himself as he heard the footsteps getting louder and louder. Had he been discovered? Shit, he was cornered in a small room! No way can he escape now! I guess he had no choice but to fight.

Tip. Tap. Tip. Tap.

Fran shut his eyes tight. '_No. I can't!'_

Tip. Tap. Tip-

Silence.

The footsteps stopped.

Fran braced himself on what was about to come. Will it be a shot in the head? A stab in the chest? He didn't know.

...

Nothing came.

Instead, he was lifted up by his collar, his legs dangling in midair as he tried to struggle.

Fran, eyes still closed, flailed his arms. "Hey, hey! What're you-!"

"Quiet, you dumb brat."

Fran opened his eyes at the familiar voice.

"L-lightning pervert?"

"Don't call me that!" Levi argued, letting the boy down. "Where's Bel?"

Fran lowered his head. "We got separated..." Boy, Fran felt pathetic.

"Tsk! Fine then, we'll have to look for him." Levi uttered, before throwing something at Fran. The boy struggled to catch it, and looked at the item suspiciously.

_This is... the target's family ring...?_

Levi scoffed, annoyed at the stupidity of the young illusionist. "Wear it. It'll help get your mist flames back."

Fran nodded and slipped the ring onto his finger as he followed the lightning guardian back to the hallway. With his illusions back, he was unstoppable. He knocked all the soldiers unconscious, before Levi stabbed them in their chests with his sharp umbrellas, electrifying them and burning their corpses to a crisp.

* * *

><p>The young illusionist couldn't believe his eyes. He knew they were an assassin squad, but this was too much. The bloodied corpse of their target was hanging- <em>pinned -<em>on the wall, eyes gouged out, neck slit and body cut up in different areas. Fran didn't even dare look down at the mangled-up corpses near his feet.

"I guess we're done here, Bel." Levi spoke as he walked over the corpses, away from the scene. Fran just stared at his senpai, his face indifferent but his eyes had fear and confusion written all over it.

"Ushishishi~! Blooood, blood! There was so much blood!" Bel laughed insanely, arms over his head.

_His mad phase isn't disappearing...what should I-_

…_?_

A knife grazed his cheek, and blood trickled down that petite face. Fran looked at Bel. Another knife was in his hand.

"Ushishishi! You bled! I should cut you up too, froooggyyy~"

_He's completely lost it!_

The prince charged at Fran, knives in the ready. Fran tried to think fast. He couldn't fight anymore, he couldn't run anymore... and man, he was pretty damn hungry right now-

..._!_

"Bye bii~!"

Before Bel could stab the knife into the kouhai's head, Fran leaned forward and pushed one of Lussuria's homemade sandwiches into the prince's mouth with one finger.

"Mmmppggh!"

The prince stumbled backward in shock, and fell to the ground. Bel tried to chew the sandwich before slowly swallowing it down his throat, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Wha- what was that for you dumb frog?"

Fran sighed in relief, before sinking down to the ground on his knees. "You're back..." The illusionist closed his eyes and panted heavily. His wounds were opening, and he was just about ready to faint from the blood loss. He crawled closer to his senpai and buried his face on Bel's chest.

"H-hey, froggy...?" the prince stuttered. This was certainly new. The urge to wrap his arms around his kouhai was making his arms tremble, but instead, the prince simply placed one hand on his kouhai's head and smoothed the little boy's hair.

Right now, Fran was too tired to argue with the fallen prince. Deep down, he was just glad he brought Bel back from insanity on his own. Even Mammon had difficulty trying to bring him back.

Before slipping into unconsciousness, Fran whispered,

"You owe me another sandwich, moron-senpai."

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter: <strong>How to Spend a Quiet Day

**A/N: **Hm, that was pretty short and disappointing, but the next chapter will be fluffier, I promise! In the meantime, I'd like to know what you'd want to see for the upcoming chapters! Please leave a review with your suggestion, I'll be sure to note it down and see if I can write a chapter about it! 'Till next time!

-Minto-san


	6. How to Spend A Quiet Day

**A/N: **Here's the next chapter guys! Thanks so much for the lovely feedback for all the previous chapters, it really helps! This chapter has fluffy fluff in it, so please enjoy!

**Warning: **Minor character death.

* * *

><p>Chapter 6<p>

How to Spend A Quiet Day

* * *

><p>"Ushishi~"<p>

Bel snickered menacingly as he made his way down the main staircase of the Varia mansion. It was 8 in the morning, and Squalo called everyone downstairs for a group meeting, Of course, Belphegor, being the lazy prince he was, took another two hours before getting to the living room (which was considered their meeting area).

"Vooii! You're late! We've been waiting, dumb brat!" Squalo yelled as the prince closed the door behind him. Bel simply shrugged and walked over to his usual seat.

As soon as the blonde settled himself, he looked around, noticing something, or rather, _someone _was missing.

"Where's Fran?"

The room fell silent. For some reason, Squalo and Lussuria had worried looks on their faces, while avoiding eye contact with the prince.

"A-ah. Bel-chan... Fran-chan is..."

"...he's outside. His grandmother died yesterday." Mammon butted in. "The news of her death came a bit late, I guess."

Bel's hidden eyes widened, not really believing what he had just heard. "Wha-"

"Voi, he's spending a day in prayer or something, so I gave him an early day off." Squalo sighed, before adding, "Don't fight with him today, Bel. It's not a good idea right now."

The prince simply nodded as the others went on with the meeting.

* * *

><p>Fran hugged his knees closer to his chest as he sighed heavily. Since 7 in the morning, he had been sitting on the soft, green grass in the Varia Headquarter's garden, just in front of the main building. He sat under a tree, made a tiny monument out of stacked rocks with a small flower in the middle, and stared at it all morning.<p>

_Grandma..._

As soon as the name crossed his mind, he could feel a sting in his eyes as tears started to form.

"So this is were you were, Froggy."

Fran gasped in surprise, rubbing his eyes violently before turning to the source of the voice. Slowly turning around, he greeted the prince, hiding the nervousness in his voice.

"Ah, good morning, senpai..."

The prince settled himself beside his kouhai. Confused, the young illusionist tilted his head, noticing his ever-so annoying senpai was unusually quiet today.

"Bel-senpai...?"

"Sorry to hear about your grandma, Froggy."

The kouhai's eyes widened at that. Was his senpai actually worrying about him? No way. But the thought of Bel being concerned for Fran made the younger male smile, even though it was barely noticeable.

"It's fine, senpai."

Bel turned to his kouhai, his mouth in a straight line. "You seem to be taking it rather well."

"Hm. I don't really care if she's dead. It wouldn't make a difference if she is, anyway."

"Liar."

"Huh?"

"You... you're pretending you don't care, do you? Shutting away your feelings again."

"..."

Fran said nothing. In fact, he was pretty calm. At least, that's what it looked it from the outside. He may have gone quiet, but his mind was practically yelling, _raging_ even.

_Who do you think you are?_

The prince noticed the grim look on his kouhai's face, and continued. "The more you hide it, the heavier the burden it'll be on you."

_Don't talk like you know me._

The teal-haired boy looked away. "Shut up. I don't know what your talking about."

_Don't talk like you understand._

"Don't play dumb, Froggy. Deep down, I bet you're probabl-"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Fran yelled, burying his face in his knees.

"Eh-" Bel looked at his kouhai, dumfounded. That was certainly new. His froggy never showed emotions, so this was pretty unusual for Bel.

Then again, why would he hide them anyway? What was so bad about showing your feelings, making them known to the world?

"Ne, Froggy." Bel started again, poking Fran's forearm. "I have a question."

"...what do you want now, senpai?"

"Why do you have to hide them?"

Fran lifted his head from his knees, facing his senpai. "Eh?"

"I mean, why don't you ever show your emotions?"

"That's none of your business, moron-senpai." Fran mumbled, playing with a stray strand of hair.

Annoyed at the frog's stubborn attitude, Bel pulled out a knife, ready to plunge it into his kouhai's skin. Suddenly, the white-haired captain's words played through his mind again.

_'...Don't fight with him today. It's not a good idea.'_

Sighing heavily, he dropped the knife back into his pocket, swearing to himself he'll stab the frog tomorrow, first thing in the morning. Turning to Fran, the prince murmured, "...it's alright, you know."

The kouhai snapped his head at the prince. "Sorry?"

Belphegor turned to Fran and answered with a louder voice, "It's alright...to cry."

The prince knew that Fran had been holding it in for quite a while now. He just needed to reassure the frog and let him show his emotions, just this once. However, Fran wasn't going to give up that easily.

"Who do you think I am, senpai? Some kind of crybaby?"

"You are, aren't you?"

…_!_

Fran bit his lip. How can he say these things so easily? Fran had come a long way of hiding his emotions, and yet, this guy, Belphegor, he just wasn't letting it go. It was like the prince was reading his mind, ripping his mask piece by piece.

He can't stand it.

Just when Bel was about to give up, Fran spoke. "Back then..."

"Huh?"

"Back then, I used to cry a lot, you know. I got mad a lot too." Fran started, not really sure on how to continue this conversation. "In contrast to my grandma, who was always smiling and laughing, I was nothing but a ball of negative emotions."

Belphegor nodded internally smiled.

_Froggy is actually opening up to me, huh...?_

Fran continued, "Everytime I cried, someone would always call me weak and vulnerable. I would cry over the silliest little things. I hardly smiled. But..."

The prince nodded and listened intently to what the frog was about to say.

"...grandma always said that she never wanted to see my cry, pout, frown or anything like that."

Fran looked up at the branches of the tree, hugging his knees to his chest tighter. "But what could I do? It was as if all the emotions I knew were sadness and anger. That's all tears were for, right?"

_Froggy..._

"Grandma told me she never wanted to see me cry ever again, and promised she'd scold me if I did. That's when I learned how to mask every emotion, soon enough, I got used to it. Grandma never saw me cry ever again. Stupid, huh?"

The prince tightened his fists. He just couldn't believe that the frog would shut out all his emotions just because he wasn't allowed to cry anymore. How about the other emotions? Happiness? Excitement? Love?

…

_Cross out that last part._

"But..."

Bel's thoughts were interrupted as he turned back to the frog.

_...!_

_Drip. Drip._

"Froggy...?"

Tears rolled down Fran's cheek, his voice quivering as he spoke.

"But... it's fine now right?"

"Huh?"

"..."

Fran brought his arms up to cover his face as he continued to sob. "Sh-She's not h-here anymore, so th-that means... I don't have to hold back any -hic- anymore too... r-right?"

_So that's it. You've really been hiding it all this time, have you?_

Bel scooted closer to his kouhai before pulling the young illusionist into an innocent hug. "It's alright." the senpai murmured, holding the teal-haired boy close. "It's alright now."

As if that was the final reply necessary, Fran cried. He wailed, whimpered, hiccuped and sobbed. All the sadness he had been hiding these past few years, he let it out. All that hurt and suffering, all those painful memories he tried to forget, he cried for them. It's as if he saved them all up and pushed them all out in one go. He didn't have to act to strong anymore, didn't have to hold back.

The arms that were wrapped around him made sure of that.

Bel smoothed the little boy's hair, smiling victoriously. He finally broke his uncute kouhai's mask. His shoulder was all wet with tears, but he didn't mind. However, he wasn't so used to comforting people, so he really felt useless seeing his frog cry like that while he continued to stroke his hair comfortingly.

After a few minutes, the young illusionist had gone unusually quiet. Bel leaned back to check on his kouhai, only to discover that he had fallen asleep. Sighing, the prince settled the young boy's body under the tree, and stood up to leave.

Much to his surprise, Fran, who was supposedly asleep, grabbed on to the corner of this coat and sleepily murmured,

"Don't go."

"What?"

"...Don't go..." the young boy repeated, eyes still shut. "Stay with me, Bel-senpai."

Bel couldn't resist. He let his kouhai rest his head on his lap, napping peacefully to the silent breeze of the afternooon. The prince smiled to himself, glancing over the small monument Fran had made for his deceased grandmother.

_Don't worry. I'll take responsibility._

_After all..._

Bel leaned his back against the tree and slowly closed his eyes.

_...I'm a prince._

**3 days later...**

"VOOOIIII! Bel! Fran! Get your asses down here! I have a mission for you both!"

"Yeah, yeah." Fran monotoned, walking over to the captain.

"Mou~ You shouldn't be so strict with them, Squ-chan!"

Squalo handed the envelope to Fran, as he combed his ruffled-up hair with his fingers. They were starting to get tangled more often, probably because of all the stress he had been going through. Especially with the boss.

Lussuria pulled out a comb out of nowhere. "Let me help you with that, Squ-chan! On second thought, please allow me to practice my makeup skills on your face!"

"VOOOIII! WHAT'RE YOU- HEY!"

The swordsman struggled to keep his face away from the gaylord, but it was too late. He had him.

Fran walked back to the room, the envelope still in his hand. "Ah, I forgot to-"

The teal-haired boy stared at the scene before him. Squalo. The always-so-masculine captain had lipstick all over his face, messed up mascara staining his eyes, an excessive amount of blush on on his cheeks, and his hair was tied into two adorable pigtails.

"...Nevermind, captain. I'll go ask Mammon-senpai instead." Fran slowly spoke before closing the door.

"IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK!"

Bel stood at the front door, waiting eagerly for his kouhai. "Ushishi~ What took you so long?"

"Ah, captain had some... _business _to attend to." the kouhai lied.

_Drip. Drip._

Tears started to drip from his eyes again. Bel saw that and handed him a handkerchief as they both headed out the door.

Bel didn't have to ask why Fran was crying. The two already knew the reason, and it was perfectly fine. Because the tears Fran shed weren't the tears of sadness anymore.

They were tears of joy.

* * *

><p><strong>Next chapter: How to Get Along With Senpai<strong>

**A/N: **Done! Early update for you guys, since I didn't update for two weeks straight. Is it okay? It's pretty long-ish... so much fluff in this too! Please leave a review! It helps me become more motivated to type, actually. Also, if you'd like, please leave a few suggestions/headcanon so I may have a few ideas on how to continue this story.

Thank you, I hope you enjoyed, and please leave a review!

Sincerely, Minto-san.


	7. How To Get Along With Senpai

**A/N: **Very sorry for the super late update. Here's the next chapter~

* * *

><p>Chapter 7<p>

How to Get Along with Senpai

* * *

><p>"Bel-chan! Fran-chan! Calm down!"<p>

_THUNK. THUNK._

Oddly shaped knives stuck to the wall as a certain teal-haired illusionist quickly evaded another attack from the prince.

"Shut it, gaylord! I'm going to teach this brat how to treat a prince whether he wants to or not!"

"You're not even a prince! You're fake royalty! Uwaa-!"

A concerned Lussuria stood in the corner, a worried expression on his face as the two youngest members of the Varia battled it out in the living room. "Oh my."

He brought out his cellphone and flipped through the contacts. "I have to call Squ-chan."

**Earlier today:**

It was another 'peaceful' afternoon in the Varia HQ. Squalo, Leviathan and Mammon had been sent out to do their missions, leaving the rest of the members to enjoy their day off. Lussuria woke Fran and Bel up a little early to help him hang out the laundry.

Reluctantly, the two accepted, or they'll never hear the end of it.

"Ushishi~! Lussuria, the dumb frog can't reach the clothesline~" the prince called out. "What should we do now?"

Without turning away from what his was doing, Lussuria easily answered, "Then carry him, Bel-cha-"

"No way in hell."

Fran, who was busy bringing the baskets from the laundry room to the clothesline, interrupted them with his usual montone voice. "I don't like the idea either, Luss-senpai." he droned. "Can I go back in the house and watch TV instead?"

"No, Fran-chan." Lussuria answered in a stern voice. "This is good exercise in the morning. Besides, isn't it great to bond with your family~?"

The kouhai shrugged at that. He didn't exactly _dislike _the idea, but he didn't like it either. He simply nodded and settled the basket on the ground beside Bel. He took out the clothes and passed it to the senpai, as the prince took them and easily hung them over the line.

Lussuria observed the scene before them; the wind blew and the morning dew could be seen shining in the sunlight, the birds were starting to chirp their happy songs and the sun had risen above the horizon. "Perfect day to hang up the laundry, ne~?" He beamed. The other two simply nodded and went back to hanging up the clothes. But then, Fran pouted as he mumbled, "I wanna hang them, too."

The prince looked down at the frog and snickered. "Sorry, Froggy. You're gonna have to reach the 'prescribed height'." Bel mocked, emphasizing his statement by holding his hand out and waving it back and forth in front of his forehead. The kouhai looked away, his cheeks puffed.

Bel chuckled, admitting to himself that it was kind of cute. As Fran passed another shirt to the blond, the prince leaned down, held Fran's waists and picked him up, making the illusionist squeak. "What are you doing, moron senpaaai~?"

"Didn't you want to hang them?"

Fran sheepishly blushed, before turning to the clothesline and hung the five shirts that were in his arms. Lussuria squealed at that, fangirling over their adorable relationship. This was turning out better than expected.

And they had to admit, it was pretty peaceful.

...If only it lasted.

They were finally at their last basket, Lussuria went back inside to make them breakfast as the two finished up. "This is the last one, senpai- Ah." The kouhai noticed that the certain striped shirt he was holding had a hole in it. He quickly got up to give it to Lussuria, however, Bel had already pulled the shirt towards him and-

_RIIIIP._

"...Eh?"

There were a few moments of silence, the two staring at the GIANT hole in the middle of the shirt. It was beyond repair. Fran, who had no idea to who this shirt's owner was, sighed. "I guess we have to throw this in the trash now, huh..."

Bel, on the other hand, was a little more than pissed off. "You dumb, useless, frog! This was the prince's favorite shirt!" he yelled.

This ticked off Fran and automatically yelled back,"How would I have known? It was your fault for pulling the shirt away!"

"It's never the prince's fault, you toad! We've been through this!"

"You're no prince. A true prince always takes responsibility for his subject's actions." Fran scoffed.

"Tsk!" Bel immediately pulled out five knives and stabbed them onto the boy's head. Annoyed, the teal-haired illusionist ran towards the senpai and kicked him _there. _The prince groaned, crumbling to the ground as he cursed at the frog. The kouhai stuck out a tongue and ran towards the building. Bel followed suit, but at a much faster pace.

It didn't take long for that fight to heat up, taking it to the next level as they started throwing plates, chairs, vases and not to be forgotten, knives. Hearing the noise, Lussuria rushed downstairs, wondering what all the commotion was about.

"Oh my! What's going on here?" He yelled, bringing his hands up to his cheeks.

"Fake prince!"

_CRASH._

"Dumb toad!"

_BANG._

Lussuria was confused. What happened to that sweet moment a while ago? Did something happen?

* * *

><p>The 'battle' lasted until 10 AM, until Lussuria called Squalo over and explained the situation. All it took was one 'VOOOOOIIIII!' to shut the two brats up. However, a provoking statement from Fran earned another comeback from Bel. Lussuria had to lock his arms around the prince's and Squalo's around Fran's, restraining to two.<p>

"You're a fallen prince! Fallen, fallen, fallen, undeserving prince!"

"You brat! You're just a stupid weak peasant who can't even fight to save himself!"

"VOOOIII! SHUT UP BRATS, OR I'LL SLIT YOUR THROATS!"

"Squ-chan, you calm down too!"

"Interim prince!"

"VOOOII! DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN LUSSURIA!"

"Shishi~ Say that again, you stupid frog, and I'll dice you!"

"VOI! BEL, QUIT IT! I'M REALLY GOING T-"

_BANG._

Everyone in the room turned to the source of that gunshot.

"Fucking trashes. Shut up or I'll blow you to pieces."

The four people in the room gulped. The boss really was something. The ill-tempered man blew the tip of the gun, settled it back on his belt, and yawned. "If I hear another noise again, consider yourselves dead." And with that, he turned around and walked back to his room, shutting the double-door behind him.

"Yes boss..." The four said in unison.

The flamboyant man sighed and let go of Bel, as Squalo shut Fran's mouth with his hand to prevent him from saying any more.

"Now, Bel-chan. Apologize . You too, Fran-chan."

Bel, who was too ticked off at the moment, snickered coldly. "Shishishi. No way."

"Bel-chan!"

_No. The prince will absolutely not after what he said and did._

Instead of apologizing, he turned his back on Fran and crossed his arms as the long-haired swordsman let go of the illusionist's mouth, only because Fran promised to apologize.

The kouhai reluctantly looked up at the blond who had his back turned at him. "Senpai..." he started.

"Che. I don't want to hear it, you _worthless, good-for-nothing, dumbass _toad." Bel coldly replied. Fran froze at that. Most specifically, at the word 'worthless'. He backed up and bit his lip. That was a bit too harsh, wasn't it? Lussuria could see the hurt in Fran's eyes, those emerald orbs quivering, and somehow, he quickly understood what the kouhai was feeling at the very moment.

_Pain. Hurt. Rejection._

Worried, he interrupted, "Bel-chan, you don't really mean that."

"No, the prince means it. I never cared for someone like him. He's better off dead."

_Better off dead._

_Better off dead._

_Better..._

_off..._

_dead._

Fran could feel the tears stinging his eyes, and he violently rubbed them away. Taking a brave step, he questioned the senpai. "Then, why were you beside me all this time? Why were you always there?"

Bel mumbled the first thing that came to his mind. "Because you were a junior. It was my job as a senpai to look after you. It's just because it was my job, and nothing more."

Squalo gaped. Lussuria silently gasped. And Fran?

A tear rolled down his cheek, as thoughts rushed through his head.

_So, this whole time...?_

_Ever since the first day I joined..._

_..when we ate together..._

_...when we laughed together..._

_..when we smiled and played together..._

_...our first mission, that day when my grandmother died..._

_...this morning too..._

_...it was all an act? _

The silence in the room scared the prince a bit. He turned around to look at his kouhai, when suddenly, his hidden eyes widened.

Fran was staring at him; those eyes, shone with hurt, confusion, disappointment, sadness...

...and betrayal.

Bel looked back at what he said, and immediately regretted that he did.

_That was a lie. _

_That was a lie!_

He opened his mouth to speak. "Froggy-"

"Senpai." Fran interrupted, head held down.

…?

"_I hate you."_

…_!_

At that moment, both Fran and Bel felt their hearts shatter as those words left the kouhai's mouth. But the illusionist didn't stay for more. He shoved Squalo's hands off him and ran to his room, tears falling endlessly down his cheeks.

Right now, he hated this place more than anything.

* * *

><p>Four days had passed since that argument, and the Varia members had no idea what to do. The headquarters were unbelievably quiet without Bel and Fran running around. They had to admit, they liked the noise better than this deathly silence. Lately, all the prince does is sit on the couch or stay in his room, only coming out to take a bath, eat food or do missions. As for Fran, he did the same, only he avoided the senpai as much as possible. This argument was getting out of hand. Whenever they would come across each other, Fran would either run the opposite direction, or pretend the senpai wasn't even there. Bel had to admit, he wanted to hear his voice again. they haven't spoken for days, and he had come to miss the toad's monotone.<p>

However, it was different on the kouhai's point of view. Ever since the argument, he had been speaking rudely, or at least, ruder than usual, and he would always answer back coldly or just stay quiet. Fran would also constantly lock himself in his room, and Lussuria could hear him talk during his sleep. The sun guardian thought it was normal thing since he was a kid and all, but little did the Varia know, the kouhai had been formulating a plan this whole time.

If only they knew.

...

Bel made his way into the kitchen, as he tried to find something to eat. All that was on the table that didn't have to be cooked was an apple.

_Apple, huh...?_

The prince sighed as he played with the apple in his hands. He sure missed his kouhai.

When they played together, when that cute face of his showed a smile for once, when they would sometimes sneak into the kitchen and get some of Lussuria's cookies, hid in the prince's closet and ate them. When the frog would blush adorably when they called him small, the way Fran would always know what to say no matter what the situation. When they would always be the first ones up, visiting each other's rooms just to annoy each other; the senpai teasing Fran and the kouhai arguing back. Weren't they happier that way?

Those memories only made the prince guiltier. He set the apple back on the table, and tried to look for his cute kouhai. He figured it was time to settle this once and for all.

* * *

><p>...<p>

"What...?"

"Voi, like I said, that little runt ran away." Squalo sighed, passing an envelope to the prince. Apparently, Fran had knocked out about 150 Varia rookies when about ten of them saw him try to escape. The attempt seemed too desperate to be a prank.

Bel couldn't believe his ears. "Why...? And to where?" His heart yelled at him to run after the frog, but his brain told him to calmly grasp the situation first.

"Mu. That's the problem. We have no idea. His mist flames have been completely concealed." Mammon spoke, floating beside Bel. "But it looks to me you have something to do with it."

"Anyway! We have to find him! Who knows what could happen to him, all alone out there!" Lussuria panicked. "He'll starve!"

Bel quickly turned around to chase after the kouhai, when all of a sudden, Squalo's phone beeped.

"I've never seen this number before..." The swordsman mumbled, before answering it. He gasped.

"You're...!" Squalo set the phone to loudspeaker.

_["Kufufu. Greetings, Varia. Are you all doing well?"]_

Mammon grunted, "Rokudo Mukuro, huh? What could he possibly want now?"

"Why are you calling, you bastard?" Levi accused.

_["Now, now. I'm just here to give you a heads up. Your precious Fran is missing, it seems?"]_

Bel immediately grabbed the phone from Squalo's hands, earning a 'Hey!' from the swordsman. Ignoring the captain, the blond hissed, "Why do you know something like that?" Different kinds of negative emotions swirled through the prince's body. He had half a mind to break the phone in his hands right now.

_["Kufufu. I just called to tell you that the little one is with me, safe and sound."]_

Lussuria butted in, "So you kidnapped him?"

"You bastard...!" Bel mumbled through gritted teeth.

_["Oya, oya. Jumping to conclusions, are we? No, Varia. You are mistaken. It is Fran that came to me."]_

_...Huh?_

Everyone in the room fell silent.

_["For the past four days, we had been contacting each other in my illusionary dream world. We settled a deal. In exchange for his service as my apprentice, I will take him away from you."]_

The prince didn't give up. "I don't think Froggy would do something like that. I don't believe you."

_["Kufufu. Prince the Ripper..."]_ The voice chuckled through the line._ ["Kindly turn off the loudspeaker. I have something to tell you."]_

Reluctantly, Bel did as he was told, earning confused looks from the Varia members. "What do you want?"

...

_["Senpai...?"]_

The blond could swear he almost dropped the phone when he heard that voice. That monotone. Froggy. Hearing his voice again was a big relief. At least he knew the kouhai was safe. However, that doesn't change the fact that he tried to run away.

"Froggy? Where-"

_["Ne, senpai."] _Fran interrupted through the line. _["Don't look for me anymore. I'm master Mukuro's apprentice now."]_

"Are you an idiot? Why would you do something like that? I- _We _need you here."

_["Because..."]_ The kouhai paused. _["You lied to me."]_

Bel froze. "What?"

_["Remember...when you told me you only stayed by my side...because you had no choice? Because it was all... part of the job?"] _Fran spoke through sobs. The prince gasped. Hearing the illusionist cry _broke_ Bel. He wanted to just run to him right now, hug him tight and never let go. The way the illusionist said it, he didn't know how to explain to his kouhai that it was just another lie.

Not knowing what to do next, he breathed, "Froggy..."

But the kouhai didn't let his senpai finish._ ["I...stayed with you...because I wanted to be with you. To always be with you...through everything. Heh, selfish, isn't it...?"]_ Bel could hear the tiny hiccups and sobs from the other line. He clenched his fists, nails digging into his skin.

There were a few moments of silence, when Fran decided to continue.

_["I never needed a reason to be with you, senpai."]_

Fran's voice was quivering, trying to choke back sobs. _["I really, truly, wanted to be with you, simply because I loved the feeling when you're with me."]_

_Me too..._

Bel's mind yelled.

_Me too._

_Me too!_

The prince opened his mouth to speak, but once again, he was interrupted. _["See you later , senpai."]_

"Froggy-!"

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

And nothing else was heard.

* * *

><p><strong>Next chapter: <strong>How to Live Without You

**A/N: **So, here I am, with a fancy new update after abandoning this for about 3 months, when all of a sudden, I ruin your happy spirits with angst. I'm sorry, you must all hate me right now. I just needed to get this on track, so it could merge with what's going on in the manga right now, you know? I can't wait for Fran VS Bel to happen!

Please review! I'd love to know what you think, if I should continue this or not! Bye bye, and 'til next week!

-Minto-san


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